Out of the Blue
by Phoenixica24
Summary: The Trio's 3rd year, after Ron/Hermione fight, Hermione finds a new friend. Her new friend finds a new love-an illegal, troubled love. The Trio gets pulled in to a mix of pain, hurt, betrayal, love, desire, and learning what humanity is all V/OC!
1. Chapter 1: Out of the Blue

**A/N: Sorry for going MIA for forever, but I found this file on my computer from before my life got all screwed up. I will probably make it a multi-chaptered fic, depending on how much support I get for it, but this is all I have right now. I have to find the story in my memory and remember what my plot line was-it must have been good to pull me out of my writing depression like that...**

**(aka please review! Thanks so much!)**

**Thanks to my wonderful beta Rising From The Flames for such a great job!  
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Out of the Blue:

I walked out of Herbology and stared longingly across the grounds to the lake, wishing I could go for a quick swim before my next class. If only it would warm up. Ronald Weasley pushed roughly past me, and I thought I heard someone sobbing quietly. I ran after the sound until I found Hermione Granger sitting by a fountain, crying her heart out.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked softly, going up beside her. She jumped, and I cursed my American accent. This was why I never spoke here!

She wiped angrily at her eyes. "It's Ronald."

"Of course it is. Guys are jerks. He'll grow up, you'll see." I said, trying to console her.

She looked at me strangely. "I haven't seen you around before."

"My name is Rose. I'm in Gryffindor, too, but I'm a fourth-year." I explained.

"Oh. I'm sorry, now you're late." she said mournfully as the bell rang.

"It's worth it." I hugged her. "Don't let that idiot get to you." I smiled. "If you ever need someone to talk to, or maybe someone to 'talk' some sense into him, I'm here."

To my relief, she smiled back. "What do you have now?"

"Double Potions. I have to run."

Her eyes widened. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, Hermione. I'm pretty good at it, so Snape doesn't hate me as much. I stay quiet and do my work, and he doesn't pick on me. It's a four-year-old agreement, sort of. I'll be fine, you'll see. But I'm guessing you better run, too. See you at dinner?"

"Sure." she replied, hugging me again before running off.

RSRSRS

I ran as fast as I could, which, modesty aside, is pretty damn fast. I was still late, but not by as much as it could have been. I took a deep breath and fixed my hair before slipping silently inside. Lucky me, his back was to the door, and I ducked into my usual seat in the farthest corner possible. He turned and I swear he looked right at me! I continued to focus on the potion we were brewing for the lesson, ignoring the familiar heat rushing through my body.

Last year, I went to the Dueling Club out of pure curiosity, thinking it would be interesting to see if the tales about Lockhart were really true, expecting to fall for him like so many others if they were, and prepared to accept that fate. I was not prepared to fall for another teacher. Snape had calmly one-upped and thoroughly humiliated his colleague, as though he and I were of the same opinion of the pompous bastard, except he actually did something about it. And I found myself noticing him, my teacher, more than was necessary, more than was healthy.

I was and am well aware that if anything happened and anyone found out, not only would I get thrown out of school, my one last home, but that he could very well lose his job. I would not, _could_ _not_ risk that.

It was entirely out of the blue, and now it was not only a crush, but an extremely unhealthy obsession. Bad for both of us. Completely out of the blue.

SSSSSS

I turned as she slipped silently in, and realized my semi-intelligent little red-haired, rosy-cheeked lioness had grown. She was taller, still slender, but with a noticeably smaller waist and flared hips. It was hard to tell with her robes fastened, but the rest of her was so developed I had no doubt that her chest had done the same. She sat quickly and quietly in her usual chair and set to work. I took a few laps around the room, checking on the others before stopping right behind her.

"Lateness does not go unexcused in my class, not even for one with such a clean record as you." I breathed in her ear.

She jumped. "I know." she murmured.

I raised an eyebrow. "No excuses? No 'But it was _his _fault' or any other pathetic protest of innocence?"

She turned to face me. "Would you believe me if I told you my reason? Not likely. We both know I was the one who was late, and nothing else matters."

It took me a second to process the fact that she would willingly accept whatever fair punishment I assigned her. Never had anyone so calmly confronted me about my unfairness, perhaps not outright, but she had subtly hinted at it, preserving my dignity and reputation while at the same time letting me know that she disapproved greatly. Never had any student I had ever heard of willingly accepted a punishment like this.

Not only was she a smart Gryffindor, she was unique in so many other ways. At a mere fourteen years, she was more mature than most adults I knew, including Albus.

"Since Madam Pomfrey is running low on certain medicinal potions, you will report to my office at seven tonight to assist me in brewing them. And do not be late again, or it will be worse."

She merely nodded, meeting my gaze for a moment before returning to her work. Her amber eyes were so clear and honest that I knew she would be there.


	2. Chapter 2: Detention!

**A/N: This chapter is dedic****ated to three people. First, my beta Azzie(Inkfire) for correcting two versions of this chapter and then helping me decide when one to actually post. -What a long hiatus can do to a person! Ooops!- Second, my boyfriend for encouraging me to continue, prompting me to write the second version of this chapter without realizing I'd already written chapter two-that part's not his fault, but oh, well.- And third, to Sophia Cooper for supporting my writing and talking me into not giving up. :D This is for you guys!**

Out of the Blue:

A/N:Chapter Two: Detention!:

Firelight flickered on the walls, the only source of light in the otherwise dim room. Perhaps not the best of work situations in regards to lighting, but that was how he worked.

Rose stood uncertainly near the door, precisely at seven. Not wanting to appear even a minute late, she gathered her courage and knocked.

"Come in." he stated calmly. He motioned her towards a worktable next to the one he was currently working at.

"The instructions are stacked in the order I wish you to brew, along with notes on how much is needed." he instructed quietly.

Rose nodded and dropped her bag in the corner, out of the way. Noting that he was not wearing his heavy school robes, she stripped hers off, folded them, and set them atop her bag. She shyly stepped past him, over to her work area, and picked up the stack of parchment. It was hot and humid in the room, so she quickly set down the instructions and tied up her hair up and out of her face before continuing.

Severus found himself looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She was practical, choosing to display her rather inappropriate attire rather than sweat throughout the next few hours and possibly cause some fatal mistake.

However, it could very well prove his undoing.

For the next hour and a half, he forced himself to stay on task, trying to ignore her, in her low-cut black tank top and cloth shorts that could only barely pass as actual pants and not lingerie.

At eight-thirty, he turned to her. "You are dismissed. I will finish up here."

She looked at him, opened her mouth, then closed it, and glanced away. Looking back at him, she gave him a pleading look that made his heart skip and his breathing catch before opening her mouth again, and closing it again.

"Spit it out!" he snapped, narrowing his eyes as he fought the urge to reach out and brush her hair out of her face, touch her, be close to her.

"It's just...I like finishing what I start. That's all. So I was wondering..."

"If you could extend your detention?" he asked in disbelief.

"I suppose you could put it that way." Her lips quirked upwards into a smile.

He shook his head. "That's a first." He gazed thoughtfully at her for another moment, then sighed. "You may stay until curfew. I'm not giving you a pass if you get caught afterwards. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir!" Her smile lit up her face, and it seemed like she illuminated the room.

He sighed. _What have I gotten myself into now?_


	3. Chapter 3: Finishing

**A/N: Dedicated to my beta Azzie(Inkfire) and Alanna(Sophia Cooper) for beta'ing and reviewing respectively! :D  
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Out of the Blue:

Chapter Three: Finishing:

A soft glow illuminated the hallway, accompanied by the sound of light-hearted laughter, a young girl talking, and an occasional soft male chuckle.

Severus couldn't recall the last time he'd enjoyed himself like this. Normally, talking to students only annoyed him. They were terrified of him, and even the bold ones were too self-absorbed to notice his impatience.

But this girl...she was something else. She chattered on, yes, but not incessantly. She could read him well, could tell when he didn't like a topic, and would take that into consideration, letting the conversation flow smoothly in another direction without protest.

Eventually, she'd asked shyly if he minded music while they worked, and he shrugged noncommittally. Music reminded him of Lily, but Rose couldn't know that. She nodded, and pulled out a cord from her pocket, followed by a black rectangle that fit in her hand. She pressed some buttons, and inserted the plugs on the ends of the split cord into her ears.

Severus recognized it as a Muggle device, but since he'd never followed Muggle customs willingly, he had no idea what it did.

Rose saw him give her media player a suspicious look and smiled. "It plays music. These," she said, touching her headphones, "are so only I can hear it."

Severus nodded, his mood darkening slightly. Of course she noticed.

"Unless that's a problem...?" she said uncertainly, her voice trailing off into a question.

Severus glanced at the clock. "No, you should be going anyway." he sighed. Rose shot him a questioning look.

"You have five minutes as of now to return to your common room." he told her with a smirk.

The smirk vanished when she yelped, yanking her robes on. Muffled swearing caused him to raise an eyebrow.

"You may wish to reconsider your choice of words before you lose your House precious points." he warned.

Finally succeeding in yanking her robes on, Rose glared at him. "It's your fault! You could have warned me!"

Severus smirked again at the sight of her with her hair all mussed up. "Language like that isn't going to earn you a pass."

"...Sorry." she muttered.

"I am curious though..." he began, and she looked up, tilting her head slightly to the side in question. Just the sight made his heart beat faster, and he cursed her for looking so beautiful, and himself for noticing. "Where did you learn language like that? Not here, I hope."

"No..." she replied. "Not here." she grabbed her bag and glared at the clock. "_Someone_ better be praying their clock's wrong." she hissed quietly.

"Is that a threat?" Severus asked, eyes narrowed. He looked her over, she'd turned pale and started shaking when he mentioned the time. Concern overrode his annoyance with her.

"I'll walk back with you." He had not anticipated her reaction.

"No, no, it's fine! I'll make it!" she yelped, her voice rising in panic. "I mean...I'm a runner, so it's okay!"

"No human could _run _that distance in two minutes." Severus stated flatly. "Despite the coarse language, you have a point. I should have warned you."

She gave him an incredulous look with those deep amber eyes. "The feared Potions Master admits a mistake?" she teased. "It's fine. See ya!" With that, she bolted out the door. Severus sighed.

"Foolish child." he muttered, going after her. He blinked at the empty corridor. She hadn't been joking...she was fast.

But not fast enough. Four minutes and several shortcuts later, he found her gasping excuses to an irate Mr. Filch.

"I'll see you put in-" the caretaker was yelling, jowls shaking, beyond furious.

"That's enough." Severus cut in with his silky-smooth voice. "She was in detention with me."

"Why does she not have a pass?" Filch hissed.

"The little fool thought she could make it from my office to the Gryffindor common room in two minutes."

Filch's bulb-like eyes widened, and he wheezed out a laugh.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Gryffindors and their pride. However, it was my mistake. It will not happen again." he promised. Filch stumbled off, still wheezing.

"Thanks." Rose muttered, glaring at the floor. She still looked pale, sickly so. And she was still shaking.

"Are you all right?" Severus asked.

"Fine, why?" she replied, putting the pressure on him. _Why does he care?_

"I can't have Minerva telling Albus I'm killing off her students." Rose smirked.

"I'm not dying, Professor."

"You're pale as a corpse. You didn't drink anything from my office, did you?"

"No!" she exclaimed indignantly. "I'm not that much of an idiot!"

He smirked. "You are a Gryffindor. One never knows." She narrowed her eyes to glare at him. Normally, he'd have any student that had the nerve to glare at him like that put in suspension, at least. But with her it was simply amusing. Although Severus wasn't sure why this was so, he enjoyed it.

Until a shudder racked her body and she collapsed.


	4. Chapter 4: Emergency!

**A/N: Dedicated to my beta Azzie(Inkfire) and marbleandtoast, Avalon-Mist, Qwestriria, Sophia Cooper, Snape's Witch, playwright82, and Lost O'Fallon Girl for reviewing, special thanks to Sophia Cooper for pulling me up when I was so down before. :D  
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Out of the Blue:

Chapter Four: Emergency!

Severus lunged forward, catching Rose before she smashed her skull on the floor. "Foolish child." he muttered, brushing her hair out of her face. She was breathing, but still pale and trembling, despite her current state of unconsciousness. Sighing, he picked her up gently, and rushed to the Hospital Wing.

"Poppy!" he called, laying her on the nearest bed. He stood beside her, checking for a fever, anything to explain her sudden collapse.

The mediwitch fairly flew out of her office, and frowned when she saw Severus with a young female student, and the moonlight flooding in from the windows.

"Just what happened?" she asked suspiciously.

"She was in detention with me and it grew rather late. She fled for her common room with two minutes till curfew, and almost five minutes later I found her with Filch. I explained the situation and after he left, she was pale and shaking. Then, as the little fool was telling me she was fine, she collapsed. If I'd been any farther away, her head would be split open." Severus explained, annoyed.

"Well..." Poppy tsked as she ran some diagnostics. "It seems that there is nothing wrong besides her being slightly malnourished and stressed."

"Malnourished? Here?" Severus asked in disbelief.

"You of all people know that malnourishment can become a habit," Poppy chided. "I'm sure that's the case here. For now, just let her rest. You can report to the Headmaster if you wish, but my orders are to leave her alone, here, until morning."

Severus just nodded and left, with one last glance at the unconscious girl.

A few minutes later, the Headmaster's door burst open to reveal an irate potions master. "Albus." he said in a low, almost threatening voice.

"What is it?" the old man asked, turning away from his Pensieve.

"You have a malnourished student under this roof and never once-"

"Malnourished?" Dumbledore broke in, looking confused. "Every mistreated student in Hogwarts has received care-"

"Not this one!" Severus yelled. "I let her out of detention only to have her collapse on me!"

"Oh, dear." Albus replied, eyes twinkling. "How awful."

The potions master snarled wordlessly at him.

"Who is this girl, if I may ask?" the ancient wizard inquired.

"One of your precious lions!" came the furious reply.

"Oh? Which one?"

"Rose Swider." Albus' eyes widened.

"Her? No, you must be mistaken, Severus, she couldn't-"

"She is. Ask Poppy." Conveniently forgetting to mention the mediwitch's threat about leaving the poor girl alone till morning.

"I believe I will." With that, Albus swept from the room, leaving Severus to seethe on his own.


	5. Chapter 5: Tearing Away the Mask

**A/N: Thanks to my wonderful beta Azzie for beta'ing, sorry for waiting so long to post, but I got kinda caught up in school, extracurriculars, and then NaNoWriMo-my first year participating, and I won! So now I have a novel to finish on the side of all my fanfics, so please bear with me if anyone even still reads any of this stuff. Anyway, will try to update more often and focus on writing in general more, hopefully that will help. Onwards! :D**

Out of the Blue:

Chapter Five: Tearing Away the Mask:

Moonlight flowed through the window, falling across a bed with smoothly rounded sheets, covering the small body of a student. A student just barely scraping by. Hiding her pain from all of them, not trusting anyone, had led to this. She was terribly thin, always wearing loose clothes to hide that fact, and rarely ate. Poppy had run diagnostics to discover her metabolism running extremely high, indicating that she kept active, but with her diet, that only made her situation worse.

"How could you not see this?" asked the dark-haired man from the shadows, breaking the icy silence.

"How could you? She always smiled, walked with a bounce in her step. She's been nothing but kind towards others, helping and laughing. She cheers people up by smiling herself. I don't understand how you saw this, and even less how it happened in the first place." Dumbledore admitted shamefully.

"You're losing your touch." Severus snorted, moving over to the bed where Rose lay. "She overworks herself to please others. You still don't see it? She's wearing a mask just so that you won't see. She doesn't want anyone to know-or even suspect. It's happened before, and she didn't like what happened. So she got better at hiding." He looked up. "She's been abused."

"You can't possibly have gotten her to admit to all that!" Dumbledore exclaimed.

"I didn't. I can see it in her eyes, the way she acts. You are blind, Albus." Severus replied coolly, smoothly.

"Maybe so. What do we do now? She must admit to abuse before she can heal." Albus muttered absentmindedly, clearly shaken.

"Leave her to me." Severus told him.

"Are you sure that is wise?" All he got was a furious glare in response. Sighing, he stood. "Very well Severus. Do what you think best." The Potions Master simply nodded and watched the Headmaster leave.

He himself sat beside the girl's bed until the sun rose and Poppy came to check on her. Nothing much had changed overnight, and she told him that the girl would wake soon, and should be kept out of class for the day. He just nodded, fully intending on looking after her himself.

He would break through her mask.

Finally, Rose stirred, moaning softly before burying her face in the pillow as sunlight hit her eyes. "Too bright." she mumbled, lifting her head and blinking sleepily. She looked around before seeming to realize where she was and jumping up defensively. Severus pushed her back down onto the bed roughly.

"You fainted last night on your way back to the common room, from malnutrition." he informed her straight out. "Now, eat." He pointed towards the tray Poppy had brought not too long ago, using wandless, wordless magic to reheat the contents.

Rose glared at him for a second. She knew full well what he thought and didn't like it. She ate well enough, less than she should, but clearly more than she was used to. No point making her sick, he thought, and let her stop.

Poppy came over and gave the teen strict instructions before allowing Severus to administer several strengthening potions and take her to his office.

Once they got there, he realized it was too formal. She would never open up to anyone in a place like this. She was too determined. Sighing, he led her back through to his private quarters, indicating a chair near the fire before bringing out some comfort snacks. Rose watched his every move with a suspicious, calculating gaze. She knew what was going on. Severus finally decided to drop the pretenses and just sat down.

"You cannot continue this."

"Why not?" She looked him straight in the eyes, calm and confident.

"You will die." She blinked, clearly not expecting him to be so blunt.

"You can't be sure of that." she said shakily. He could see the mask cracking, just a bit, but it was enough. It had to be.

"I am. Because I went through the same thing."

"You can't say that!" she cried, jumping up, eyes blazing. "You have no idea-"

"What it's like to sit in a corner while your parents scream at each other about you like you don't exist?" he asked quietly. "Or maybe I don't know what it's like to have a drunk father come home and go to a woman's room. It was my mother for me, but I have no doubt you had it worse."

Rose froze, going completely silent and still, her face deathly pale. Severus waited patiently.

A single tear ran down her cheek and dripped to the floor, an audible plop on the rug.


	6. Chapter 6: Breaking Down

**A/N: Thanks to my beta Azzie, and anyone who read/reviewed/favorited/followed this story! **** This is for you guys!**

Out of the Blue:

Chapter 6: Breaking Down:

One tear followed another, as Rose's body shook uncontrollably. Severus felt her pain as his own, but all he could do was stay put. If he was right, just his being there and not leaving her to deal with it alone should help. He dared not get closer, not while she was still defensive.

Finally, she wiped her eyes and sat quietly, waiting for his judgment. He didn't have one. Instead, he asked quietly, "Do you want to talk now?" He didn't leave her the option of not talking at all. She would have taken it and run. And that was the opposite of what he hoped to achieve here.

Rose took a shaky breath, staring determinedly at the fire. "He never went to my room." she admitted. "It hadn't gotten quite that bad. I'm too small. I bruise easily. People would notice." Severus nodded, relieved. He wasn't sure how he would have dealt with sexual abuse.

"But they did fight." he prompted her carefully. She nodded, all pretense wiped away. Her walls had finally broken down.

"All the time. Sometimes I wonder if he only married her so I would have a mother, so he wouldn't have to raise me alone."

"What happened to your mother?"

"She died of cancer before I can remember. My grandma says that's what changed my dad. But I can't see him as anything other than what he became after my mom died."

"So she didn't like you because you're not hers."

"I think so. She always accuses me of things I didn't do. Tells me I'm an awful person. Has ever since I can remember. I don't know what I did to upset her."

"Maybe you didn't do anything. Not everyone in the world is good, Rose. Some people are more bad than good. Just because she says so doesn't make you bad. Her motives for saying that determine whether or not she is good or bad, and from what you've said thus far, I cannot believe that they are the right ones. No child deserves that." He tried to keep it simple, not to overwhelm her, and he also knew not to fight too hard yet. She wouldn't believe it if he did. She probably didn't believe what he was saying anyway. But if he could overwrite, with time, what had been done to her mental stability with positive memories, then maybe he could reverse the abuse. It was a long shot, but one that he was willing to take. And he'd already accomplished the first step.

She'd finally broken down.


End file.
